Dominica and Rwanda sign visa waiver agreement

Dominica and Rwanda have signed a visa-free travel agreement aimed at enhancing mobility between the two nations. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was formalized on Tuesday during the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.

With this agreement, Dominica joins several Commonwealth nations that have established similar visa-free arrangements with Rwanda, including Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, and Guyana.

This agreement is expected to facilitate easier travel between the African nation and the Commonwealth of Dominica, while also strengthening their bilateral relations. It will open up opportunities in tourism, culture, and business.

The MOU was signed by Dominica’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr. Vince Henderson, and Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Olivier Nduhungirehe.

Rwanda, a landlocked country in east-central Africa, has an estimated population of 13 million as of 2024.

Rwanda has recently intensified its efforts to strengthen bilateral ties with the Caribbean, recognizing their shared history and development goals. President Paul Kagame has actively championed the enhancement of Afro-Caribbean relations during several official visits to countries such as Barbados, the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago.

At the inaugural Africa-CARICOM Summit in 2021, which brought together leaders from the Caribbean Community and Africa to explore trade and investment opportunities, Kagame noted that the collaboration was both timely and long overdue.

Despite the geographical distance, leaders from both regions emphasize the importance of accelerating people-to-people exchanges, particularly for youth and entrepreneurs, to foster trade and investment cooperation.